Roller bracket

ABSTRACT

A bracket for suspending a sliding glass door comprising a unitary body defining a panel-receiving channel in which facing side walls of the channel are serrated to securely engage a glass panel inserted therebetween. Portions of the channel walls above the serrated facing side portions define an opening formed in the shape of a right triangle, whereby, the side wall portions of the channel may be deflected toward each other by the tightening of screws passing through the channel side walls to securely engage said glass panel therebetween. Roller means are also provided for slidably mounting the door.

United States Patent Rystad [451* Mar. 12, 1974 ROLLER BRACKET [75]Inventor: Arnold 0. Rystad, Lakeport, Calif.

[73] Assignee: Work Right Products Inc., Hayward,

Calif 22 Filed: Oct. 16, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 297,925

[52] U.S. Cl. 248/489, 248/316 D [51] Int. Cl A47g 1/16 [58] Field ofSearch 248/316 R, 316 B, 316 D, 248/467, 468, 475 R, 489; 40/125 A, 125F,

125 M; 211/45; 24/243 B, 243 CC, 255 R 399,623 7/1909 France 24/243 BPrimary ExaminrWilliam H. Schultz Attorney, Agent, or FirmBruce & McCoy[5 7] 7 ABSTRACT A bracket for suspending a sliding glass doorcomprising a unitary body defining a panel-receiving channel in whichfacing side walls of the channel are serrated to securely engage a glasspanel inserted therebetween. Portions of the channel walls above theserrated facing side portions define an opening formed in the shape of aright triangle, whereby, the side wall portions of the channel may bedeflected toward each other by the tightening of screws passing throughthe channel side walls to securely engage said glass panel therebetween.Roller means are also provided for slidably mounting the door.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures ROLLER BRACKET BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This application relates generallytoa panel mounting bracket and, more particularly, to a sliding doorsuspension bracket especially adapted for clamping directly to a slidingglass shower door panel.

2. Description of the Prior Art Many types of mounting roller bracketsare now used and available for the mounting of glass panels to formsliding or swinging shower doors. One type of roller panel mountingbracket is disclosed in U. S. Pat. No. 3,481 ,572, issued Dec. 2, 1969,to Casebolt et al. The bracket of this patent includes a channel sectioninto which a bearing element, formed integrally with and separable fromthe channel is inserted. With the bearing element inserted into thechannel, screws are provided to force the bearing element against onesurface of the panel inserted into the channel. In this manner, thebracket is coupled to the panel. However, these panel mounting bracketsrequire the use of separate bearing elements to allow the panel to beheld in the channel. These separate bearing members are forced intocontact with the panel by means which in some situations do not properlycoact the bearing element and, therefore, do not always retain the panelelement in proper position particularly under adverse conditions.

A need therefore exists for a glass panel mounting roller bracket foruse with sliding glass shower doors which positively and firmly locksthe panel element in position and which is of a simplified and moreeasily fabricated design to facilitate mounting and reliability in use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a rollerbracket having a unitary body including deflectable parallel spacedsidewall portions depending from a transverse section element anddefining a glass panel receiving channel therebetween. The facingsidewalls proximate the open bottom of the channel are serrated tosecurely engage the panel in a direct contact relation. Means areprovided for forcibly urging the serrated sidewalls into intimatecontact with a glass panel disposed in the channel for positivelycoupling the roller bracket on the panel. Roller means are provided onthe unitary body adapted to engage a frame/track surface to permitslidable suspension of the glass panel as in the door of a shower stall.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an important object of theinvention to provide a roller bracket which may be directly coupled orclamped to a glass panel such as those used in sliding glass doors.

It is another object of the present invention to provide roller bracketsfor suspending a glass panel from a top edge thereof, which bracketsinclude deflec'table Still another object of the invention is to providea panel mounting roller bracket including a channel sidewall which ispivotally deflectable for positively clamping the bracket to the topedge of a glass panel.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Additional objects of the invention will bebrought out in the following description of the preferred em bodiment ofthe roller bracket, taken into conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a roller bracket clamped in position tothe upper edge of a glass panel including roller running in a track formovement of the panel;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front elevational view of the roller bracket ofFIG. 1 showing the roller in position; and

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2.

For purposes of illustration, a preferred embodiment ll of the rollersuspension bracket of the invention is shown in FIG. 1 as secured to aglass panel 12, and as supported by a channeled track member 13comprising a portion of a shower enclosure frame in which, e.g., a glasspanel door is to be provided. The bracket is formed as a unitary body 15as by extrusion of a suit able material such as aluminum. Soft to mediumhard aluminum or aluminum alloys are suitable. The body 13 of the rollerbracket includes a roller mounting means, preferably formed as a flatplate tab portion 17 which includes an angularly disposed slot 19extending therealong and having a roller 21 adjustably held therein. Forexample, the roller may include a threaded end shaft 23 extendingthrough the slot and locked in position by means of a nut 25 pressingagainst a washer 27 and bearing on plate 17. In this manner, upon loosening the nut, the shaft of the roller may be adjustably moved along thelength of the slot to properly position the panel for sliding movementalong the track 13.

The unitary body 15 of the bracket includes a panel mounting section 29integrally formed with the mounting section, as by co-extrusion of thesame. As maybest be seer in FIG. 3 of the drawings, section 29 comprisestransverse section 31 having two downwardly extending sidewall portions33, 35 defining the panel receiving channel therebetween. The tab rollermounting plate portion may generally extend upwardly from transversesection 31. Sidewall portion 33 is structured downwardly from section 31as a somewhat thinned section 36 terminating downwardly in a thickenedjaw section 37 so that this sidewall is relatively deflectable. Sidewallportion 35 is formed as a relatively rigid mas sive section 39 whichdepends downwardly from section 31 but diverges away from sidewall 33somewhat beneath roller 21. Massive section 39 thenceforth continues asa jaw section 41 in spaced parallel mating relation to jaw section 37.Accordingly, the channel fonned between the side portions 33, 35includes a top portion 42 formed substantially in the shape of a righttriangle. The vertical side of the triangle is formed by the inner faceof the substantially perpendicular section 36. The hypotenuse of thetriangle is defined by the inner face of the section 39 which issubstantially thicker in cross section than section 36 and is relativelyrigid with respect thereto. Section 39 diverges downwardly from thetransverse section 31 where it contacts the inner wall of jaw section 41at any angle which permits clearance of track 15, for example, 60, 45,etc.,

and is complimentary with respect to the angle formed with section 31.

The triangular channel portion 37 extends downwardly approximatelycoextensively with sections 36 and.39. The jaw sections 37 and 41continue downwardly therefrom in substantially parallel spaced planesdefining a generally rectangular channel portion in which the upper edgeportions of panel 12 are inserted during assembly.

For securing panel 12 therein at least one clearance hole 43 is providedin section 36 to receive a machine screw 45. Matching tapped holes arethen provided in section 39 to enable screws 45 to be threadablyinserted therein. In this manner, as the screws 45 are threaded intoeach respective hole, the heads will be brought into contact with theoutside. face of sidewall section 36. Further turning of the screws willthen cause the sidewall section 36 to be pivoted or bent so that jawsections 37 and 4l'are brought to bear across panel 12 with a securegripping force. Therefore, with a panel 12 inserted into the rectangularportion of the channel, the converging sidewalls will securely clamp thepanel therebetween.

In order to attain a secure gripping action, the inner jaw surfaces areprovided with serrations 46. When fabricated as by extrusion theserrations 46 may be provided as a series of parallel sharp pointedridges. lf fabricated otherwise, knurled or cross-hatched surfaces maybe provided. lt is generally highly desirable, if not withstand thegripping pressure as well as for the usual purposes for which such glassmaterial is usually selected. lt will be noted that such serrationsformed in a material sufficiently soft to be extruded provide tip areaswhich can easily be deformed so as to relieve stress concentrationswhich might tend to shatter the glass panels.

Especially beneficial results are obtained when roughened glasssurfaces, e.g., pebbled, scored, etc., are used. In this case the tipportions of the serrations deform to conform to the glass surfacesomewhat thereby creating interlocking jaw-panel interfaces with a moresecure frictional gripping action. It will be appreciated that therelative thickness relationship of sections 36 and 39 may beinterchanged if the deflection of section 39 can be tolerated.

- It therefore can be seen that the roller bracket of the presentinvention may be utilized with a panel and may be quickly and easilysecured or removed from the panel by the use of the adjustable screws.

in addition, the invention eliminates the need for adhesives or anyother type of material normally required between the clamping surfacesto provide a sufficient clamping force. The clamp of the presentinvention may be adjusted for application to panels of different widths.

While the invention has been described in considerable detail, it is notto be limited to such details as have been set forth except as may benecessitated by the appended claims. I

I claim:

1. A panel bracket for slidably suspending a glass panel comprising agenerally rigid unitary body having an elongated panel receivingchannel,

said channel defined by a transverse upper section and extendingsidewall portions,

said sidewall portions including mating serrated jaw portions along thelower portion thereof for engaging a panel inserted therebetween, and

clamping means carried by said body and extending through said channelfor adjustably urging said serrated portions of said channel intocontact with a panel inserted therebetween, whereby said bracket will becoupled to said panel, the sidewalls of said channel being of differentthicknesses, and the upper portion of the channel including an openupper portion formed substantially as a right triangle, whereby, uponadjustment of said means, said sidewalls pivot toward each other tobring the serrated jaw portions of said channel sidewalls into contactwith said panel.

2. The panel bracket of claim 1 wherein said channel includes anenlarged opening extending from the bottom thereof to substantially thetop portion thereof and includes a right triangular shape top sectionwith a bottom section having serrated jaw portions formed thereon facingtoward each other to form gripping surfaces for the panel insertedtherein, and said means for forcably urging said sides against the panelincludes a pair of screws mounted in threaded holes extending throughboth sides and the triangular opening of said channel, whereby, the sideportions of said channel may be pivoted toward each other by thetightening of said screws in said holes. 1

3. The panel bracket of claim 1 wherein the more massive one of saidsidewalls of said channel includes an angularly diverging sectiondepending from said transverse section and terminating in a jaw sectionin spaced parallel relation to the jaw section of the other sidewallsection.

1. A panel bracket for slidably suspending a glass panel comprising agenerally rigid unitary body having an elongated panel receivingchannel, said channel defined by a transverse upper section andextending sidewall portions, said sidewall portions including matingserrated jaw portions along the lower portion thereof for engaging apanel inserted therebetween, and clamping means carried by said body andextending through said channel for adjustably urging said serratedportions of said channel into contact with a panel insertedtherebetween, whereby said bracket will be coupled to said panel, thesidewalls of said channel being of different thicknesses, and the upperportion of the channel including an open upper portion formedsubstantially as a right triangle, whereby, upon adjustment of saidmeans, said sidewalls pivot toward each other to bring the serrated jawportions of said channel sidewalls into contact with said panel.
 2. Thepanel bracket of claim 1 wherein said channel includes an enlargedopening extending from the bottom thereof to substantially the topportion thereof and includes a right triangular shape top section with abottom section having serrated jaw portions formed thereon faciNg towardeach other to form gripping surfaces for the panel inserted therein, andsaid means for forcably urging said sides against the panel includes apair of screws mounted in threaded holes extending through both sidesand the triangular opening of said channel, whereby, the side portionsof said channel may be pivoted toward each other by the tightening ofsaid screws in said holes.
 3. The panel bracket of claim 1 wherein themore massive one of said sidewalls of said channel includes an angularlydiverging section depending from said transverse section and terminatingin a jaw section in spaced parallel relation to the jaw section of theother sidewall section.